- 


«  .  I 


s  _-.:. 


t)  i  >  r  / 


Commemorative 


OF 


JOHN    ANGIER    SHAW. 


Stat  sua  cuique  dies,  breve  et  irreparabile  tempus 
Omnibus  est  vita;  sed  f amain  extende re  factis, 
Hoc  virtutis  opus.  VIRGIL. 


MEMORIAL    ADDRESS 


READ    AT   THE    FUNERAL    OF 


JOHN   ANGIER    SHAW, 


IN  THE  MEETING  HOUSE  OF  THE 


|irst  Congregational  ^onctg  in  $rtogetoatcr, 

OCTOBER  8,  1873. 


BY 

RICHARD    M.    HODGES. 

U 

WITH   AN   APPENDIX. 


CAMBRIDGE: 

PRESS    OF    JOHN    WILSON    AND    SON. 
1874- 


FUNERAL  ADDRESS. 


TN  the  circumstances  under  which  we  are 
now  assembled,  Christian  friends,  it  is 
not  in  my  heart  to  solicit  your  indulgence. 
Ah!  it  is  not  I  who  speak.  It  is  God;  it  is 
Providence;  it  is  the  gentle  Spirit  of  grace, 
—  your  own  best  affections,  if  you  will  but 
listen  to  their  most  tender  accents,  —  each 
and  all  of  them  have  a  distinct  and  emphatic 
voice,  here  and  now,  in  the  presence  of  these 
emblems  of  death  and  the  grave. 

"  While  Thee  I  seek,  protecting  Power, 

Be  my  vain  wishes  stilled  ; 
And  may  this  consecrated  hour 
With  better  hopes  be  filled." 

It  is  no    new  occasion    that    excites    our 


6 


deepest  sympathies.  Often  have  they  been 
greatly  moved  before.  Life  is  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  God.  Death  is  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  God.  The  presence  of  a  wise 
Providence  is  seen  in  them  both.  But  in 
proportion  to  the  purity  and  culture  of  our 
affections  is  the  effect  of  them  more  or  less 
forcibly  felt  by  us.  The  blossom  of  infant 
life,  that  is  just  expanding  and  creating  hopes 
of  growth  and  maturity,  gives  to  the  mind 
and  heart  of  a  thoughtful  and  true  parent 
emotions  of  a  grateful  nature,  such  as  are 
only  experienced  by  those  who  sustain  a 
similar  relationship.  And  when  the  grave 
is  opened  to  receive  the  venerable  form  of 
one  who  was  entitled  to  our  love  and  rightly 
deserved  our  respect,  it  is  impossible  but 
that  our  sensibilities  should  be  tenderly 
touched,  for  so  we  are  graciously  consti- 
tuted. Jesus,  our  great  Exemplar,  wept  at 
the  grave  of  Lazarus.  Still,  life  and  death 


are  alike  in  charge  and  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Supreme  Arbiter  of  all  events.  God 
is  equally  wise  and  good  in  giving  and  in 
taking  away.  He  is  unchangeable  in  all  his 
attributes,  and  perfect  in  his  administration. 
On  this  thought  alone  can  the  prayer  of 
resignation  rest,  "  Thy  will  be  done." 

Sudden  death,  viewed  in  the  light  of  di- 
vine Providence,  is  certainly  not  to  be  dep- 
recated. Death,  when  it  cuts  down  in  a 
moment  the  thoughtless,  the  worldly-minded, 
the  undutiful  child  of  mortality,  may  well, 
and  does  indeed,  in  accordance  with  the 
admonitions  of  both  natural  and  revealed 
religion,  excite  emotions  directly  opposite 
to  those  that  we  experience  at  the  unlooked- 
for  departure  of  the  true,  the  faithful,  the 
God-loving,  and  the  man-loving  friend  of 
our  hearts  and  brother  of  our  humanity. 

Were  it  to  be  left  to  our  choice,  however, 
—  might  we  be  permitted  reverently  to  in- 


8 


dulge  such  a  thought,  —  there  are  reasons, 
seemingly  meeting  with  the  sanction  of  our 
limited  apprehension,  which  would  cause  us 
to  prefer  that  a  season  of  calm  and  submis- 
sive sensibility  should  be  granted  us  previous 
to  the  moment  of  dissolution.  How  many 
the  words  of  warning  and  of  counsel,  of  en- 
couragement and  of  hope,  that  have  pro- 
ceeded from  the  lips  of  dying  loved  ones, 
and  which  are  treasured  up  in  fond  hearts! 
These  precious  words,  it  cannot  be  doubted, 
in  the  interposition  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  are 
blessed  to  the  elevation,  the  purification,  the 
sanctification  of  many  a  soul  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  It  is  this  experience  in  the  dim 
light  of  the  death-chamber  that  makes  sacred 
the  memory  of  many  a  Christian  parent,  and 
illumines  recollections  that  might  otherwise, 
in  the  weakness  of  human  nature,  be  envel- 
oped in  darkness,  and  attended  with  oppres- 
sive influences  sadly  impeding  the  onward 


and  upward  progress  of  life.  The  pictures 
and  the  sentiments  that  are  engraven  in  de- 
vout minds  of  the  repose  and  hope  and  joy 
of  those  who,  in  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  have 
ceased  to  exist,  are  some  of  the  consecrated 
means  of  grace  in  the  consummation  of  the 
world's  salvation. 

A  beloved  man,*  a  true  minister  in  the 
service  of  Christ,  assisted  me  in  my  profes- 
sional studies  by  his  counsels  and  instruc- 
tions. He  held  a  chosen  place  in  my  heart. 
It  pleased  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  all  events 
to  appoint  that  his  work  in  the  cause  of  his 
Master  should  cease  while  he  was  yet  in 
the  morning  of  life.  He  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-six  years.  In  a  quiet  interval  of 
waiting  for  the  summons  of  the  death-mes- 
senger, he  called  a  younger  brother  to  his 

*  John  Emery  Abbot  was  born  in  Exeter,  N.  H.,  on  the 
sixth  day  of  August,  1793.  Ordained  minister  of  the  North 
Church  in  Salem,  Mass.,  on  the  twentieth  of  April,  1815. 
He  died  on  the  sixth  of  October,  1819. 

2 


10 


bed-side,  and  having  presented  to  him  a 
Bible,  with  some  words  of  affection,  said 
to  him,  "I  wish  you,  my  dear  brother,  to 
see  with  what  composure  a  Christian  can 
die."  This  incident  in  such  a  life  has  not 
ceased,  after  a  period  of  more  than  fifty 
years,  to  have  a  sacred  effect  upon  my  mind. 
The  incident,  in  all  the  meaning  it  carries 
with  it,  in  the  affection  it  discovers,  in  the 
faith  it  exemplifies,  in  the  deep  impression 
it  has  made  upon  my  heart,  assures  me  of 
the  truth,  and  confirms  the  sustaining  power, 
of  the  doctrine  of  immortality. 

But,  dear  friends,  we  would  not  presume 
to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  that  decree  which 
makes  the  time  and  manner  of  death  un- 
known to  us.  The  Giver  and  Preserver  of 
life  has  mercifully  concealed  from  our  view 
the  scenes  of  futurity.  "  Boast .  not  thyself 
of  to-morrow;  for  thou  knowest  not  what  a 
day  may  bring  forth."  It  is  sufficient  for  us 


II 


to  know  that  God,  our  Father  and  Friend,  is 
the  wise  and  righteous  Author  of  life  and 
of  death.  Let  us,  in  the  plenitude  of  our 
faith,  and  in  the  fulness  of  our  hearts,  say, 
"Thy  will  be  done." 

Faithfully,  friends  of  my  heart,  in  the 
gratification  of  my  affections,  and  in  fulfil- 
ment of  my  office  on  this  occasion,  would  I 
gather  up  and  present  to  you  my  recollec- 
tions of  the  venerable-  man  whose  remains 
are  before  us  in  the  vestments  of  the  tomb. 
But  I  fear  that  my  limited  time  and  imper- 
fect health  will  interpose  obstacles  to  a  true 
and  appropriate  delineation  of  his  character. 
Not  for  his  sake,  oh !  not  for  his  sake  would 
I  speak,  or  do  I  speak;  but  for  our  sakes, 
beloved  hearers,  in  the  remembrance  that 
we  also  are  mortal,  and  that  the  grave  now 
ready  for  these  relics  awaits  the  advent  of 
each  of  our  mortal  bodies. 


12 

JOHN  ANGIER  SHAW  was  a  native  of  the 
South  Parish  of  Bridgewater,  now  known 
by  the  corporate  name  of  the  originally  ex- 
tended, but  at  present  limited,  township.  He 
was  born  on  the  eighth  day  of  October, 
1792,  just  eighty-one  years  ago  to-day.  In 
the  direct  line  of  his  ancestors  were  men 
of  a  classical  education  who  dedicated  their 
powers  and  affections  to  sacred  studies  and 
duties  in  two  of  the  precincts  of  ancient 
Bridgewater,  and  from  these  kindred  he 
derived  his  name.*  He  loved,  with  a  con- 
stant love,  the  home  of  his  childhood,  made 
venerable  to  him  as  having  been  the  chosen 
seat  of  his  worthy  grandparents.  He  glo- 
ried, as  well  he  might,  in  a  residence  in 

*  The  Rev.  John  Shaw,  grandfather  of  John  Angier  Shaw, 
was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1729,  and  ordained  in 
South  Bridgewater,  17  November,  1731.  He  married  Ruth, 
the  daughter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Angier,  of  Watertown  (Har.  Col., 
1673),  and  sister  of  Rev.  John  Angier,  of  East  Bridgewater 
(Har.  Col.,  1720).  John  died  29  April,  1791,  aged  82.  Ruth 
died  1768,  aged  63. 


13 

the  county  of  Plymouth,  a  name  that  brings 
with  it  the  cherished  association  of  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers,  the 
men  who  coveted,  and  nobly  strove  for,  the 
boon  of  liberty,  —  though  without  a  full 
understanding  of  its  intrinsic  value,  —  a 
liberty  that  should  animate  with  a  true  life 
their  own  souls;  a  liberty  which  it  is  dif- 
ficult, because  of  the  strong  principle  of 
selfishness  that  pervades  human  nature,  to 
preserve  in  its  purity  and  to  transmit  un- 
impaired to  succeeding  generations.  The 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  brave  men!  whose  self- 
sacrificing  deeds  will  maintain  for  them  an 
honored  memory  in  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  their  posterity  in  all  coming  ages.  I  can- 
not but  think  that  the  love  which  our  de- 
parted friend  had  for  these  fearless  pioneers 
in  the  cause  of  freedom  and  of  a  popular 
nobility  had  an  important  effect  in  the  for- 
mation of  his  own  character. 


Dr.  Samuel  Shaw,*  the  father  of  him 
whose  obsequies  we  observe,  it  was  not  my 
privilege  to  know.  He  died  before  the  re- 
lation which  I  had  the  happiness  to  hold  to 
the  First  Congregational  Society  in  Bridge- 
water  was  instituted.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  the  medical  profession,  and  lived 
in  the  respect  of  those  who  received  tokens 
of  his  friendly  care  and  the  benefit  of  his 
healing  art. 

Mrs.  Olive  Leonard  Shaw,f  the  mother 
of  the  deceased,  was  a  friend  of  my  early 
days  in  pastoral  duty;  and  I  loved  to  sit  in 
the  light  of  her  countenance,  and  to  receive 
from  her  the  encouragement  and  counsel 
that  age  and  wisdom  imperceptibly  impart 
to  those  who  place  themselves  within  their 
benign  influences.  I  associate  with  my 

*  Samuel,  youngest  son  of  Rev.  John  and  Ruth  Angier 
Shaw,  born  1750,  died  4  Dec.,  1819. 

f  Olive,  daughter  of  Zebulon  Leonard,  of  Middleboro',  born 
1755,  died  3  Oct.,  1837. 


15 

recollection  of  her  the  occurrence  of  the 
annual  Autumnal  Festival  of  Massachusetts, 
a  day  which  invariably  found  me  in  her 
presence,  and  that  of  her  family,  with  my 
congratulatory  greetings.  At  that  early 
period,  Thanksgiving  Day  was  confined  to 
the  New  England  States,  and  I  believe 
that  to  some  of  them  it  was  not  then,  as 
it  is  now,  known.  I  trust  that  the  influence 
of  the  day,  under  the  cognizance  and  by 
the  appointment  of  the  general  government, 
will  work  for  the  unity  and  prosperity  of 
the  entire  body  of  our  American  Republic. 

Mr.  Shaw's  preparatory  education  was 
obtained  at  the  Bridgewater  Academy.  He 
was  admitted  to  Harvard  College  in  1807, 
before  he  had  quite  reached  the  age  of  fif- 
teen years.  In  1811  he  received  the  usual 
diploma.  Of  his  class,  which  at  their  com- 
mencement numbered  forty-nine,  but  nine, 
according  to  the  Triennial  Catalogue  pub- 


i6 


lished  in  1872,  remain  among  the  living. 
Of  his  classmates  there  were  men  of  dis- 
tinguished reputation  who  honored  offices 
in  civil,  literary,  professional,  and  religious 
life,  —  men  who  in  honoring  their  duties,  not 
simply  as  duties,  but  as  genial  activities, 
honored  themselves.  In  this  connection,  I 
am  happy  to  say  that  Mr.  Shaw  had  in  rev- 
erent regard  his  Alma  Mater.  He  loved 
to  visit  her  halls  on  academic  days  ;  and  the 
greetings  that  he  gave  to  and  received  from 
professional  gentlemen  and  the  alumni  of 
the  University  showed,  with  delightful  sig- 
nificance, the  mutual  interest  that  was  felt 
in  the  power  and  progress  of  good  learning. 
At  Commencement  of  this  year,  his  pres- 
ence was  gratefully  noticed  by  some — alas, 
how  few! — of  his  contemporaries. 

After  the  period  of  his  Baccalaureate 
course,  Mr.  Shaw  remained  in  Cambridge 
under  the  auspices  of  the  College,  holding 


the  office  of  Regent.  While  a  resident 
graduate,  he  pursued  the  study  of  divinity. 
There  was  not  then,  as  now,  a  prescribed, 
systematic  course  of  theological  education. 
The  gentlemen  who  were  preparing  for  the 
sacred  ministry  sought  and  received  the  as- 
sistance and  instruction  of  several  of  the 
professors  whose  course  of  research  and 
way  of  thought  were  coincident  with  in- 
vestigations in  the  science  of  theology.  By 
the  help  of  lectures  on  Hebrew  literature, 
and  the  laws  of  Biblical  interpretation,  to- 
gether with  critical  expositions  of  the  origin, 
meaning,  and  design  of  Christianity,  the  be- 
ginning was  made  of  a  life  all  whose  ener- 
gies and  affections  were  to  be  dedicated, 
under  God,  to  the  cause  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness as  instituted  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Mr.  Shaw,  at  the  proper  time,  received 
from  the  local  ecclesiastical  association  the 
usual  approbation  to  preach,  and  soon  after- 


i8 


ward,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  and  a 
school-teacher,  performed  the  duties  of  both 
offices  in  Woodville,  in  the  State  of  Missis- 
sippi. I  have  his  authority  for  stating  that 
in  that  part  of  the  country,  when  he  began 
professional  life,  it  was  thought  that  a  min- 
ister, unless  he  could  speak  memoriter  or  ex- 
tempore,—  that  is  to  say,  without  the  aid  of  a 
manuscript, — was  not  worthy  of  his  vocation. 
To  meet  this  popular  opinion,  and  to  satisfy 
the  demand  that  it  imposed,  Mr.  Shaw  was 
prompted  to  write  his  sermons  and  then 
commit  them  to  memory;  for  he  had  not, 
to  a  more  than  ordinary  degree,  the  gift  of  a 
free  and  fluent  elocution.  This  extra  labor  of 
preparing  for  his  pulpit  services,  and  the  loss 
of  time  that  it  involved,  which  he  thought 
was  unreasonable,  if  not  unjustifiable,  induced 
him  to  resign  altogether  the  duties  of  the 
sacred  profession,  and  to  devote  himself  to 
the  employment  of  teaching  the  young. 


19 

It  is  in  my  way  here  to  speak,  as  I  think 
I  confidently  can,  of  the  faith  of  him  whose 
funeral  rites  we  celebrate.  His  faith  was  a 
Christian  faith,  deriving  its  life  and  spirit 
from  Jesus,  the  revealer  of  truth  and  the  in- 
spirer  of  love.  Jesus,  as  he  apprehended  him, 
was  the  Heaven-sent  messenger  of  grace,  and 
the  true  source  of  light  to  man  as  the  child  of 
God  and  the  heir  of  immortality.  The  mis- 
sion of  the  Son  of  God,  in  his  view,  looked 
directly  to  the  enlightenment,  the  elevation, 
the  emancipation  of  the  ignorant,  the  de- 
graded, the  sinful  in  the  world  of  humanity. 
He  believed  in  "  One  God  and  Father  of  all, 
who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  us 
all."  To  this  infinite  and  holy  One,  in  humility 
and  submission,  he  bowed  his  spirit  in  wor- 
ship. As  he  rendered  worship  to  God,  so  he 
gave  to  the  Son  of  God  the  homage  of  his 
gratitude,  his  obedience,  and  his  love.  How 
any,  in  the  sense  of  indifference  or  in  the 


20 


mistaken  sense  of  erudition,  could  virtually 
or  gravely  declare  that  they  were  outside  of 
the  pale  of  Christianity  when  they  were 
nurtured  within  its  sacred  fold,  was  beyond 
his  comprehension.  As  well  might  they 
say  that  they  were  outside  of  the  care  and 
influence  of  civilization  when  they  were 
immediately  basking  in  the  sun  of  its  pros- 
perity, and  conscious  —  if  submissive  to  the 
rule  of  their  better  thoughts  —  that  civiliza- 
tion itself,  in  its  life  and  conduct,  is  indebted 
to  the  grace  and  genius  of  Christianity.  Our 
departed  friend  received  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  its  authenticity,  as  the  revelation  of 
the  will  of  God  in  Christ.  The  institutions 
of  the  gospel,  invested  with  a  studied  sense 
of  their  meaning,  were  honored  by  him  with 
sentiments  becoming  a  disciple  of  Christ  and 
a  lover  of  righteousness.  He.  knew  the 
worth  and  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  sought 
fervently  for  the  healthful  influences  of  the 


21 


Holy  Spirit,  happy  in  the  belief  that  they 
who  ask,  under  a  deep  feeling  of  their  need, 
shall  receive. 

Mr.  Shaw  had  decided  convictions  with 
regard  to  the  interpretation  of  divine  truth, 
and  was  open  and  unreserved  in  the  expres- 
sion of  them,  as  private  or  public  opportunity 
demanded  or  favored.  Still,  he  was  no  par- 
tisan in  religion,  in  the  exclusive  meaning 
of  partisanship.  Oh, -no!  He  cared  but 
little  for  the  name,  so  that  the  essence  was 
in  being.  "  Words  are  the  daughters  of 
earth,  and  deeds  are  the  sons  of  heaven." 
He  could  bow  at  any  altar  that  had  been 
consecrated  to  the  word  and  work  of  Jesus, 
and  could  greet  as  a  brother  of  mortality, 
and  again  of  immortality,  any  one  who 
breathed  and  lived  in  the  atmosphere  of  a 
true  life,  a  life  baptized  in  the  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice,  and  of  devotion  to  the  labor  of 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  humanity  and 


22 


making  it  wiser,  purer,  better,  and  happier. 
He  was  not  ostentatious.  He  was  rather 
inclined  to  be  humble  and  retiring  from  ob- 
servation. He  occupied  a  place  in  society 
that  will  be  vacant  for  a  time,  but  which,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  will  eventually  be 
filled.  God  permits  no  work  to  fail  because 
of  the  want  of  efficient  power. 

Mr.  Shaw,  both  at  a  distance  and  at 
home,  employed  his  abilities  in  the  arduous 
and  responsible  task  of  teaching.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  was  preceptor  of  the  academy 
in  his  native  town,  and  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  that  seminary.  He  was 
faithful  to  himself  and  to  his  charge.  It  was 
his  highest  ambition  not  only  to  teach  with 
fidelity,  but  with  success.  It  was  his  un- 
ceasing desire  that  his  pupils,  in  consequence 
of  his  instruction,  should  be  self-conscious 
of  receiving  some  useful  knowledge.  The 
best  systems  of  education,  as  they  com- 


23 

manded  attention,  were  the  objects  of  his 
study.  And  the  best  interests  of  learning, 
as  they  manifested  themselves  in  all  depart- 
ments of  instruction,  secular  and  religious, 
received  his  eager  attention  and  his  ready 
support. 

In  connection  with  education,  I  call  to 
mind  that  Mr.  Shaw  had  a  nice  perception 
of  the  beauty  of  art  in  its  relation  to  archi- 
tecture. The  plan  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  this  town  was  the  product  of  his  pencil. 
And  there  is  extant  in  Christ  Church,  in 
Cambridge,  a  picture  drawn  by  him  in  his 
undergraduate  days  at  college,  giving  a 
pleasing  representation  of  the  church  edifice 
—  noted  for  its  symmetry  —  and  the  sur- 
roundings, as  they  appeared  in  the  beginning 
of  this  century. 

In  political  life,  our  revered  friend  was 
active  in  thought  and  judicious  in  counsel. 
In  the  lower  and  higher  departments  of  the 


24 

legislature  of  the  Commonwealth,  by  general 
consent,  his  voice  was  worthy  to  be  heard 
and  his  influence  to  be  felt.  In  politics,  he 
was  honorable  and  disinterested.  He  re- 
garded the  public  welfare,  and  looked  with 
caution  upon  special  or  private  issues.  The 
opinion  that  he  held  was  his  own,  inde- 
pendent of  any  monition  he  might  receive 
from  party,  or  that  party  might  be  solici- 
tous to  give.  He  was  consequently  a  good 
citizen  of  an  enlightened  and  liberal  Re- 
public. 

In  a  moment,  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth 
day  of  the  present  month,  he  ceased  to  live; 
and  the  affections  and  hopes,  that  in  their 
truth  and  purity  adorn  and  brighten  this 
earth,  were  withdrawn  for  ever. 

I  have  sought  to  delineate  the  character 
of  your  friend  and  of  my  friend  as  it  pre- 
sented itself  to  my  observation.  Nothing  is 
to  be  gained  by  a  departure  from  the  truth. 


25 

It  is  the  truth  that  is  to  enlighten  and  reno- 
vate the  world. 

It  would  be  neither  wise  nor  well  here  and 
now  to  speak  words  of  consolation  and  of 
sympathy  to  those  who,  by  this  bereave- 
ment, have  been  widowed  and  made  father- 
less. They  know  full  well  that  the  prayer 
of  faith  and  of  love  in  their  behalf  is  offered 
to  the  widow's  God  and  the  Father  of  the 
fatherless,  in  obedience  to  that  precept  which 
enjoins  that  we  should  "  bear  one  another's 
burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ." 

And  now,  friend  of  my  earlier  days  and  of 
my  later  years,  fare  thee  well !  I  thank  God 
that  it  was  permitted  me,  not  to  speak  thy 
praises,  but  of  the  worth  of  life  as  it  was 
in  thy  heart  to  represent  it.  Thou  hast 
gone  before  me  to  thine  eternal  home.  Yet 
a  little  while  longer,  and  the  gates,  that 
have  been  opened  so  unexpectedly  to  re- 
ceive thee,  will  be  opened  to  receive  me 


26 


to  the  home  in  which  life  will  be  uninter- 
rupted, and  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  be 
for  ever  lived  ! 

Friends !  fellow-travellers  to  the  world 
beyond  the  grave !  ye  for  whom  the  beloved 
Son  of  God  lived,  and  for  whom  he  died  ! 
let  this  scene  and  this  service  have  a  pos- 
itive and  present  meaning  to  each  one  of 
you.  They  indeed  have  a  meaning  which, 
if  understood  by  you,  will  elevate  and 
hallow  all  your  conceptions  of  life.  They 
will  teach  you  to  sing,  as  the  poet,  with 
regenerating  power,  has  sung  :  — 

"  Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest, 

And  the  grave  is  not  its  goal ; 

'  Dust  thou  art,  to  dust  returnest,' 

Was  not  spoken  of  the  soul." 

If  this  language  is  tuned  to  notes  of  high 
aspiration,  how  much  grander  and  more 
ennobling  is  the  language  of  inspiration, 
"  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life  :  he 


27 

that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead, 
yet  shall  he  live  :  and  whosoever  liveth,  and 
believeth  in  me,  shall  never  die  "  ! 

Friends,  may  God  bless  you  !  May  God 
bless  each  one  of  you!  May  the  Holy 
Spirit  bless  my  word!  Amen. 


APPENDIX. 


I. 

THE  Rev.  GEO.  HERBERT  HOSMER,  the  friend 
and  pastor  of  Mr.  SHAW,  has  recorded  the  fol- 
lowing testimony  to  his  upright  and  useful  life, 
in  the  •"  Christian  Register"  of  the  i8th  of 
October,  1873  :  — 

In  Bridgewater,  4th  inst.,  Hon.  JOHN  ANGIER  SHAW, 
eighty-one  years. 

"  Like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  his  season,"  so, 
full  of  glorious  fruitage,  our  brother  passes  on  to  the 
deep,  pure  life  of  heaven. 

Sudden  departures  are  sometimes  glorious  transla- 
tions. In  the  peace  of  the  early  morning,  with  bright 
waking  thoughts  in  his  mind,  sweet  words  on  his  lips, 
and  the  sunlight  of  earth  breaking  upon  his  eyes,  he 
bowed  his  head,  and  suddenly  the  sunlight  of  heaven 
broke  upon  his  vision,  —  no  pain,  no  anxiety,  scarcely 
a  flutter  of  the  spirit's  wings  was  heard,  —  only  serene, 
grateful  peace. 


30 

Born  in  Bridgewater,  Oct.  8,  1792,  he  gave  proof 
of  his  ability  and  diligent  application  by  entering 
Harvard  College  at  an  unusually  early  age,  and  was 
graduated  with  honor  in  the  class  of  iSn,  remarkable 
for  its  men  of  eminent  talents.  He  fitted  for  the 
ministry,  and  entered  upon  the  work,  but  relinquished 
it  after  a  brief  period.  He  was  called  to  the  South, 
where  he  devoted  himself  to  teaching ;  and,  after  a 
few  years'  residence  in  Mississippi,  returned  to  Bridge- 
water,  and  took  charge  of  the  academy  for  a  period 
extending  over  sixteen  years. 

He  was  called  to  serve  this  community  in  the  differ- 
ent branches  of  the  State  Legislature,  first  as  Senator 
for  two  years,  then  as  Representative  for  four  years, 
holding  these  offices  with  honor,  and  discharging  their 
duties  with  conscientious  fidelity. 

In  the  year  1841,  under  the  recommendation  of 
Horace  Mann,  he  was  called  to  New  Orleans  to  or- 
ganize and  superintend  the  public  school  system  of 
that  city,  on  which  work  he  entered  with  great  earnest- 
ness, and  achieved  an  enviable  success.  To  this  day 
his  services  are  gratefully  remembered  by  the  citizens 
of  that  place.  After  about  ten  years  of  labor  in  laying 
the  foundation  of  a  system  of  popular  education  at  the 
South,  he  returned  to  Bridgewater,  where  he  has  re- 
sided the  greater  part  of  the  time  since,  studiously 
devoting  himself  to  labors  for  the  good  of  his  fellow- 
men.  To  the  last  he  was  occupied  in  his  favorite  work 
of  teaching ;  and,  even  as  late  as  the  day  before  his 


31 


death,  was  engaged  with  his  evening  class  of  young 
men.  For  the  work  of  an  educator  he  was  eminently 
fitted,  and,  though  faithful  in  all  he  undertook,  in  this 
sphere  he  will  be  most  gratefully  remembered. 

While  a  strongly  pronounced  conservative  Unitarian, 
he  was  charitable  in  his  spirit  to  all  phases  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  rejoiced  in  the  hope  of  a  spread  of  a  wider 
unity  of  spirit,  of  which  he  was  careful  to  note  every 
cheering  sign.  He  was  a  constant  supporter  of  pub- 
lic worship,  a  just  and  discriminating  listener,  and  a 
faithful  follower  of  Jesus  Christ. 

He  retained  his  mental  vigor  to  the  last,  and  spent 
much  of  his  time  in  the  critical  study  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  in  reading  with  interest  the  new  books 
on  the  various  phases  of  religious  thought. 

He  took  great  interest  in  the  religious  instruction  of 
the  young,  laboring  in  the  Sunday  school  with  charac- 
teristic earnestness  for  many  years. 

He  stood  among  us  a  pillar  of  strength,  remarkable 
for  his  honest  frankness,  purity  of  heart,  and  sincerity 
of  spirit.  In  his  sudden  departure,  this  community 
and  society  lose  their  strongest  mind,  as  well  as  a 
sincere,  upright,  pure-minded  Christian  gentleman. 


II. 

THE  following  memorial  was  published  in  the 
"  North  Bridge  water  Gazette,"  November  9, 
T873-  J-  E.  CRANE,  Esq.,  a  fellow-townsman 
of  Mr.  SHAW,  is  the  author  of  it :  — 

BRIDGEWATER. 

This  community  was  surprised  on  Saturday  morn- 
ing, the  4th  inst.,  by  the  announcement  of  the  death  of 
Hon.  JOHN  A.  SHAW,  which  occurred  at  an  early  hour 
at  his  residence,  of  paralysis  of  the  heart.  Mr.  Shaw 
was  born  in  the  house  where  he  died,  Oct.  8,  i792> 
and  was  but  little  short  of  eighty-one  years  of  age.  He 
was  the  son  of  Dr.  Samuel  Shaw,  and  grandson  of 
Rev.  John  Shaw,  the  second  pastor  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Bridgewater.  Early  in  youth 
he  disclosed  talents  of  a  superior  order,  and  was  fitted 
for  college,  and  entered  Harvard  with  Edward  Everett, 
Nathaniel  Frothingham,  John  C.  Gray,  and  Harrison 
Gray  Otis,  graduating  in  iSn.  In  the  choice  of  a 
profession  his  religious  cast  of  mind  led  him  to  a  theo- 
logical course,  which  was  completed  ;  but  he  subse- 
quently relinquished  it  for  the  profession  of  teacher. 


33 


He  went  to  Mississippi,  where  his  success  gave  him  a 
high  reputation  ;  and,  after  remaining  there  several 
years,  was  called  to  the  preceptorship  of  the  Bridge- 
water  Academy  in  1825.  His  success  here  is  too  well 
known  to  require  any  extended  notice,  as  his  long  con- 
nection with  the  academy  as  preceptor  and  president 
of  the  board  of  trustees  formed  a  very  important  part 
of  its  history.  His  entire  connection  as  preceptor,  in 
point  of  time,  was  sixteen  years,  terminating  in  1841. 
For  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  and  at  his  death  held  the  office  of  President 
of  that  body.  As  has  been  already  stated,  it  was  not 
here  alone  that  he  acquired  celebrity  as  a  teacher  ;  but 
at  Andover,  and  in  charge  of  the  public  schools  in 
New  Orleans,  his  success  was  alike  manifest.  His  just 
measure  of  the  importance  of  a  liberal  education  was 
ever  manifest,  and  his  testimony  always  emphatic 
upon  that  point.  His  interest  in  public  affairs  was  not 
circumscribed  to  the  school-room,  but  his  broad  culture 
fitted  him  for  other  fields  of  usefulness.  As  early  as 
1834,  his  election  to  the  State  Senate  was  evidence  of 
the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  in  this  region  ; 
and  his  subsequent  election  to  that  office  in  1835,  and 
also  four  elections  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by 
the  citizens  of  this  town,  indicated  his  popularity  as  a 
legislator.  In  both  branches  of  the  legislature  he  was 
distinguished  for  his  deep  interest  in  the  cause  of 
popular  education,  and  was  also  active  in  originating 
the  measure  for  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  repre- 


34 


sentatives,  which  at  that  time  had  become  burdensome 
and  unwieldy.  In  all  the  walks  of  social  life  he  was 
endeared  to  those  with  whom  he  was  associated,  as  a 
man  of  great  purity  of  heart,  exerting  a  most  beneficent 
influence  upon  all  about  him.  Early  in  life  he  con- 
nected himself  with  the  church  of  his  fathers,  and  was 
a  consistent  example  of  the  religion  he  professed.  The 
long  catalogue  of  those  who  were  his  pupils  would 
show  the  names  of  many  persons  of  eminence  in  the 
different  learned  professions,  and  his  memory  will  be 
long  held  by  them  as  a  public  benefactor.  This  town, 
from  which  no  allurements  of  station  could  estrange 
him,  will  hold  him  in  grateful  remembrance.  The  in- 
stitution of  learning  here,  with  which  he  was  so  closely 
connected,  will  most  indelibly  inscribe  his  name  as 
chief  among  its  friends,  and  cherish  it  as  an  important 
page  in  its  history.  Of  an  honored  ancestry,  he  leaves 
a  name  alike  honored.  A  widow,  four  daughters,  and 
a  son  mourn  the  departure  of  one  whose  life  was 
tenderly  devoted  to  their  welfare.  The  funeral  ob- 
sequies were  attended,  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  by  a 
large  number,  at  the  church  where,  on  the  last  Sab- 
bath of  his  life,  Mr.  Shaw  was  an  attentive  listener, 
Rev.  Mr.  Hosmer  officiating. 


35 


III. 


THE  annexed  notice  is  transcribed  from  the 
"  Liberal  Christian,"  of  New  York,  published 
25th  October,  1873:  — 

JOHN    ANGIER   SHAW. 

It  is  fitting  that  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory 
of  this  true  and  venerable  man  should  find  a  place  in 
the  columns  of  the  "  Liberal  Christian."  He  was  a 
faithful  member  of  that  fellowship  in  the  ecclesiastical 
world  which  hears  reverently  and  receives  implicitly 
the  teachings  of  the  Master  as  the  Messiah,  and  with 
the  whole  heart  welcomes  the  principles  of  freedom, 
fraternity,  and  benevolence.  Wherever  the  gospel, 
in  its  simplicity  and  tenderness,  in  its  beauty  and 
power,  was  reflected,  there  his  best  affections  found 
opportunity  for  exercise,  and  constant  increase  of 
strength.  He  sought  continually  that  the  spirit  of 
his  religion  should  be  baptized  with  the  water  that 
comes  from  "  a  well  springing  up  into  everlasting 
life." 

Mr.  Shaw  was  graduated   at  Harvard  College  in 


i8n,  before  he  had  attained  to  the  full  age  of  nineteen. 
After  receiving  the  honors  of  his  Alma  Mater,  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  Cambridge,  holding  the  office  of 
Registrar  in  the  government  of  the  University,  and  at 
the  same  time,  with  such  facilities  as  presented  them- 
selves, pursuing  the  studies  and  meditations  that  lead 
to  a  preparation  of  the  mind  and  heart  for  the  work  of 
the  Christian  ministry.  In  the  process  of  time,  having 
obtained  the  usual  credentials,  he  went,  by  invitation, 
to  the  distant  State  of  Mississippi,  to  exercise  the 
pastoral  office,  and  also  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  a  school- 
teacher. He,  however,  soon  found  it  incompatible 
with  a  proper  regard  for  the  health  not  only  of  mind, 
but  also  of  body,  to  devote  his  strength  and  thoughts 
to  both  of  these  important  vocations.  There  were  also 
certain  adventitious  requirements  in  the  public  conduct 
of  the  sacred  office,  at  that  period  and  in  that  remote 
locality,  that  made  the  weekly  preparation  for  the 
pulpit  on  the  Lord's  day  irksome  to  him.  Following 
the  guidance  of  what  he  deemed  an  overruling  Provi- 
dence, the  interests  of  education  commanded  the  entire 
exercise  of  his  abilities.  At  New  Orleans,  in  Louisi- 
ana, at  the  instance  of  a  prominent  educator  of  Massa- 
chusetts (Mr.  Mann),  he  filled  for  many  years  the 
office  of  superintendent  of  the  schools  in  that  great 
city  ;  and  the  influence  of  his  theoretical  and  prac- 
tical instructions  in  the  direction  of  mental  and 
physical  culture  is  felt  and  acknowledged  even  to 
this  day. 


37 

In  Andover  and  Bridgewater  —  towns  of  his  native 
State  —  his  fidelity  as  a  teacher  has  been  proved  ;  and, 
during  an  active  life  of  guiding  and  disciplining  grow- 
ing minds,  he  secured  to  himself  the  grateful  reward 
of  the  love  of  many  hearts,  and  now  that  his  life  is 
ended  his  memory  will  command  the  tribute  of  a 
wide-spread  respect  and  honor. 

He  who  is  the  subject  of  our  affectionate  recollections 
was  repeatedly  honored  with  a  seat  in  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  of  his  beloved  Com- 
monwealth. His  views  of  government  were  broad 
and  generous,  and  his  interests  in  the  causes  of 
good  learning  and  civil  polity  were  coextensive  with 
the  efficiency  of  a  liberal  education  and  a  true  re- 
ligion. 

All  the  institutions  of  Christianity  were  ever  held  by 
him  in  reverential  regard.  The  Sunday  school  had  in 
him  a  warm  friend  and  an  energetic  and  useful  super- 
intendent and  teacher.  The  meetings  of  our  Confer- 
ences, and  in  general  the  objects  of  the  Unitarian 
Association,  were  cheered  by  his  presence  and  sup- 
ported by  his  word.  He  honored  life  by  honoring 
himself,  his  powers  and  opportunities,  his  aspirations 
and  hopes. 

In  the  midst  of  life,  while  apparently  in  full  health, 
the  angel  of  death  came  to  him,  all  unawares,  with  his 
summons  to  enter  the  spirit-land.  On  the  morning  of 
the  4th  of  this  month,  ere  yet  the  sun  had  given  evi- 
dence of  his  brightness,  and  while  words  of  kindly 


38 

I 

feeling  were  proceeding  from  the  lips  of  the  uncon- 
sciously expiring  man,  his  heart,  paralyzed,  at  once 
ceased  from  its  pulsations,  and  the  light  of  his  earthly 
life  was  for  ever  extinguished. 

His  funeral  was  attended  with  every  expression  of 
respect,  on  Wednesday,  the  8th  inst.,  that  day  being 
the  eighty-first  anniversary  of  his  birth.  The  meeting- 
house of  the  First  Congregational  Society  in  Bridge- 
water,  where,  in  health,  he  was  a  constant  and  devout 
worshipper,  was  filled  with  sympathizing  friends. 
The  services  began  with  a  dirge  by  the  choir.  An 
invocation  was  made,  and  select  texts  from  the  Scrip- 
tures were  read  by  the  present  pastor  of  the  society, 
Rev.  Geo.  Herbert  Hosmer.  A  memorial  address  was 
delivered  by  Rev.  R.  M.  Hodges,  a  former  pastor,  and 
an  early  and  a  late  friend  of  the  deceased.  A  concise 
and  appropriate  sermon,  from  Proverbs  xii.  28,  was 
preached  by  the  stated  minister  ;  and  the  funeral  prayer 
was  offered  by  Rev.  George  W.  Hosmer,  D.D.  The 
exercises  were  varied  with  happy  effect  by  hymns  of 
consoling  and  quickening  power. 

At  the  grave,  in  the  beautiful  cemetery  of  the  town, 
the  words  of  committal  —  "earth  to  earth"  —  were 
spoken,  and  the  insignia  of  death  and  decay  were  for 
ever  removed  from  mortal  sight. 

Servant  of  God,  well  done  ; 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ  : . 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won, 

Enter  thy  Master's  joy. 


39 

Soldier  of  Christ,  well  done  ; 

Praise  be  thy  new  employ ; 
And  while  eternal  ages  run, 

Rest  in  thy  Saviour's  joy. 

R.  M.  H. 
CAMBRIDGE,  October  12,  1873. 


4° 


IV. 


FOR  aid  in  collecting  the  following  statistics, 
thanks  are  specially  due  to  the  Hon.  ARTEMAS 
HALE,  the  oldest  ex-member  of  Congress,  who 
still  bears  his  accumulated  years  and  abundant 
honors  with  grace  and  dignity.  "  Serus  in  ccelo 
redeat." 

Mr.  Shaw's  educational  and  religious  mission  began 
in  December,  1818.  His  journey  to  Mississippi,  though 
relieved  and  cheered  by  the  company  of  his  sister 
(Mrs.  Ames),  was  long  and  tedious.  The  facilities  of 
travel  and  correspondence  were  not  developed  then  as 
they  are  now.  His  interest  in  the  profession  of  teach- 
ing, to  which  he  now  consecrated  his  life,  prompted 
him  to  continue  his  work  among  the  remote  people 
who  had  at  first  called  his  attention  and  secured  his 
affections  in  their  behalf  as  a  teacher.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  one  or  two  intervals  of  recreation  spent  at 
his  early  home,  and  with  his  friends  in  Massachusetts, 
he  remained  abroad  for  a  period  of  nearly  twenty-six 
years.  From  1825  to  1830,  and  again  from  1832  to 
1841,  he  had  charge  of  the  Bridgewater  Academy. 


41 


From  1841  to  1851,  with  the  reservation  of  short  vaca- 
tions in  the  summer  seasons,  he  was  engaged  at  New 
Orleans  in  systematizing  the  school  department  of  that 
city.  Since  his  return  from  Louisiana,  his  residence 
has  been  for  the  most  part  in  Bridgewater,  and  his 
occupation  the  familiar  and  favorite  one  of  training 
and  enlightening  young  minds. 

By  the  favor  of  his  political  friends  in  the  county  of 
Plymouth,  he  was,  in  1835  and  again  in  1838,  elected 
to  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts.  In  this  high 
position  his  influence  and  learning  in  regard  to  educa- 
tional interests  were  felt  and  acknowledged.  In  token 
of  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-townsmen  in  his  in- 
tegrity and  honor,  he  was  chosen,  for  three  years, — 
from  1839  to  I^4i?  inclusive,  —  to  represent  them  in 
the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature.  His  fidelity  to 
the  trust  was  marked  by  the  generous  and  enlightened 
spirit  of  philanthropy. 


V. 

FAMILY   REGISTER. 

JOHN  A.  SHAW,  on  the  apth  March,  1821,  was  mar- 
ried, in  Woodville,  Miss.,  to  Sarah  Hart  (Rogers) 
White.  The  children  of  this  marriage  were  Olive 
Rosalie  and  Margaret  Maria.  Olive  (Mrs.  David 
Perkins)  is  living,  a  widow,  in  charge  of  a  family. 
Margaret  died  April  loth,  1868,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
four  years.  Mrs.  Sarah  H.  Shaw  died  in  Mississippi, 
8th  of  May,  1824. 

Mr.  Shaw's  second  marriage  was  to  Mira  (Sprague) 
Washburn,  on  the  i7th  of  October,  1830.  There  were 
six  children  by  this  marriage,  four  of  whom  are  living, 
—  three  daughters  and  one  son,  —  two  daughters  in 
matrimony.  A  daughter  and  a  son  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs.  Shaw  still  resides  in  the  honored  homestead. 


43 


VI. 

MR.  SHAW,  not  infrequently,  through  the  pub- 
lic press,  uttered  his  best  thoughts  on  subjects  of 
immediate  interest  in  social,  literary,  and  religious 
life.  His  published  discourses  are  :  — 

Eulogy  on  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  delivered 
August  2,  1826,  by  request  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
Bridgewater. 

An  Address  delivered  before  the  Bridgewater  Society  for 
the  Promotion  of  Temperance,  February  22,  1828. 

An  Oration  delivered  before  the  Citizens  of  Plymouth,  July 
4,  1828,  "On  the  Permanency  of  the  Political  Sys- 
tem of  America." 

An  Address  delivered  before  the  Public  Schools  of  the 
city  of  New  Orleans,  February  22,  1850. 


44 


VII. 

THE  following  paragraph  from  the  "Eulogy" 
has  a  meaning  of  permanent  value  :  — 

Hail,  happy  period  !  when  civil  liberty,  joined  with 
Christian  faith,  shall  emancipate  the  world  from  the 
fetters  of  despotism  and  the  galling  chains  of  sin. 
Freedom  must  rest  on  the  basis  of  public  information 
and  public  virtue.  This  proposition,  though  often 
repeated,  is  no  oftener  advanced  than  its  obvious 
importance  requires.  And  what  so  efficacious  as  the 
sanctions  of  eternal  truth,  as  that  light  from  above, 
which  gilds  alike  the  lowly  roof  and  vaulted  dome,  to 
animate,  to  cheer,  to  purify,  and  guide  us  in  the  way 
of  virtue,  peace,  and  equal  rights?  The  politician 
may  rear  his  well-proportioned  fabric ;  but  unless  the 
light  of  Christianity  be  there,  unless  its  purifying  spirit 
shed  around  its  holy  power,  degeneracy  and  corrup- 
tion will  sap  the  foundation.  Not  that  it  interferes 
with  forms  of  government,  for  its  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world.  Its  powerful  influence  is  a  moral  influence. 
It  designs  no  reforms  but  those  of  personal  character. 
It  exalis  a  people  only  by  its  power  on  the  hearts  of 


45 

those  who  compose  it.  In  proportion  as  pure  Chris- 
tianity prevails,  —  I  mean  the  religion  taught  by  Christ, 
—  in  proportion  as  divine  philosophy  prevails,  man 
will  respect  the  rights  of  his  brother  man,  and  be  ready 
to  obey  the  easy  rule  of  liberty  and  love.  The  Chris- 
tian raises  in  his  mind  no  structure  of  the  future  hap- 
piness and  glory  of  the  world,  without  resting  it  on 
the  firm  and  broad  foundation  of  gospel  truth.  He 
who  is  the  servant  of  sin  cannot  be  the  Lord's  free- 
man, and  he  is  as  little  qualified  to  be  a  good  citizen 
of  a  free  republic.  A  corrupt  community  must  ere 
long  be  an  enslaved  community. 


Cambridge:  Press  of  John  Wilson  and  Son. 


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